The Image | |
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DVD cover of The Image
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Directed by | Radley Metzger |
Produced by | Gill Champion |
Written by |
Radley Metzger (as "Jake Barnes") Catherine Robbe-Grillet |
Starring | Carl Parker Marilyn Roberts Rebecca Brooke Valerie Marron |
Cinematography | René Lefèvre Gaston Muller |
Distributed by | Synapse Films |
Release date
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February 1976 |
Running time
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89 minutes |
Language | English, French |
The Image is a 1975 American adult drama that was re-released in an edited version in 1976. The film is also known by two other titles: The Punishment of Anne and The Mistress and the Slave and was directed by Radley Metzger. The film is based upon the classic 1956 sadomasochistic novel L'Image, written by Catherine Robbe-Grillet and published under the pseudonym of "Jean de Berg".
The story of middle-aged Jean, a writer (played by Carl Parker), who meets an old friend, Claire, a lesbian and also middle-aged (played by Marilyn Roberts), and is soon drawn into her world of sadomasochism, in which they torture Claire's youthful slave, Anne (Mary Mendum, aka Rebecca Brooke and Metzger's girlfriend at the time).
The Image was released during the Golden Age of Porn (inaugurated by the 1969 release of Andy Warhol's Blue Movie) in the United States, at a time of "porno chic", in which adult erotic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (like Johnny Carson and Bob Hope) and taken seriously by film critics (like Roger Ebert).
Films made by Radley Metzger, the film director, are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle", according to one film reviewer. Another film reviewer noted that Metzger's films are "highly artistic – and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography".